StockNews.com Downgrades Welltower (NYSE:WELL) to Sell

StockNews.com cut shares of Welltower (NYSE:WELL) from a hold rating to a sell rating in a research report report published on Wednesday.

Other analysts also recently issued research reports about the company. Royal Bank of Canada upgraded Welltower from a “sector perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $146.00 to $168.00 in a research report on Friday, February 28th. Mizuho upped their price target on shares of Welltower from $141.00 to $170.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 18th. Bank of America boosted their price target on Welltower from $221.00 to $242.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. Jefferies Financial Group raised Welltower from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $132.00 to $147.00 in a research report on Thursday, January 2nd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on Welltower from $140.00 to $158.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, March 10th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Welltower presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $156.46.

Welltower Price Performance

Shares of Welltower stock opened at $153.39 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48, a quick ratio of 4.22 and a current ratio of 4.22. Welltower has a 52-week low of $87.87 and a 52-week high of $158.55. The company has a fifty day moving average of $145.78 and a 200-day moving average of $135.52. The stock has a market capitalization of $98.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 98.33, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.87 and a beta of 1.20.

Welltower (NYSE:WELL) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 11th. The real estate investment trust reported $1.13 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.40 by $0.73. Welltower had a return on equity of 3.15% and a net margin of 11.91%. Equities research analysts expect that Welltower will post 4.88 EPS for the current year.

Welltower Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 6th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 25th were given a dividend of $0.67 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 25th. This represents a $2.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.75%. Welltower’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 171.79%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Welltower

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of WELL. Geller Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Welltower by 3.7% in the fourth quarter. Geller Advisors LLC now owns 1,911 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $241,000 after acquiring an additional 69 shares during the period. Mather Group LLC. grew its position in Welltower by 3.8% in the 4th quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 2,053 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $259,000 after purchasing an additional 75 shares during the period. Childress Capital Advisors LLC raised its stake in Welltower by 3.7% during the 4th quarter. Childress Capital Advisors LLC now owns 2,152 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $271,000 after buying an additional 76 shares during the last quarter. Woodmont Investment Counsel LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Welltower by 3.8% during the 4th quarter. Woodmont Investment Counsel LLC now owns 2,213 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $279,000 after buying an additional 81 shares during the period. Finally, Wealthspire Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Welltower by 2.5% in the 4th quarter. Wealthspire Advisors LLC now owns 3,451 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $435,000 after buying an additional 83 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 94.80% of the company’s stock.

Welltower Company Profile

Welltower Inc (NYSE:WELL), a real estate investment trust (“REIT”) and S&P 500 company headquartered in Toledo, Ohio, is driving the transformation of health care infrastructure. Welltower invests with leading seniors housing operators, post-acute providers and health systems to fund the real estate infrastructure needed to scale innovative care delivery models and improve people’s wellness and overall health care experience.